John Hirst

Chinese civilisation was for a long period more advanced than European. From China, Europe acquired printing, paper-making, the compass, gunpowder and locks for canals. Yet it was in Europe that steady economic growth first occurred and then the Industrial Revolution. And it was in Europe that representative government and individual rights, those other hallmarks of modernity, first developed. What is it about Europe? Celebrated historian John Hirst offers a fascinating exploration of the qualities that made Europe a world-changing civilisation. The Shortest History of Europe begins with a rapid overview of European civilisation, describing its birth from an unlikely mixture of three elements: classical learning, Christianity and German warrior culture. Over the centuries, this unstable blend produced highly distinctive characters - pious knights and belligerent popes, romantics spouting folklore and revolutionaries imitating Rome - and its coming apart provided the dynamic of European history in modern times. Meanwhile the common people were tilling the soil, until they became the first to enjoy the prosperity of an industrialised urban society. The Shortest History of Europe is a clear, humorous and thought-provoking account of a remarkable civilisation.

The Shortest History of Europe

Chinese civilisation was for a long period more advanced than European. From China, Europe acquired printing, paper-making, the compass, gunpowder and locks for canals. Yet it was in Europe that steady economic growth first occurred and then the Industrial Revolution. And it was in Europe that representative government and individual rights, those other hallmarks of modernity, first developed. What is it about Europe? Celebrated historian John Hirst offers a fascinating exploration of the qualities that made Europe a world-changing civilisation. The Shortest History of Europebegins with a rapid overview of European civilisation, describing its birth from an unlikely mixture of three elements- classical learning, Christianity and German warrior culture. Over the centuries, this unstable blend produced highly distinctive characters - pious knights and belligerent popes, romantics spouting folklore and revolutionaries imitating Rome - and its coming apart provided the dynamic of European history in modern times. Meanwhile the common people were tilling the soil, until they became the first to enjoy the prosperity of an industrialised urban society. The Shortest History of Europeis a clear, humorous and thought-provoking account of a remarkable civilisation.

How Conquest, Culture, and Religion Forged a Continent

Shortest History of Europe

Nesse livro ágil e provocador, o renomado historiador John Hirst explica o que tornou a Europa o berço da civilização ocidental e a sociedade mais vanguardista do planeta em áreas como arte, ciência, filosofia e qualidade de vida. Hirst começa identificando as três forças que deram origem à civilização europeia: a cultura da Grécia e da Roma antigas; o cristianismo; e a cultura bélica e feudal dos germânicos. Em seguida, conta como essa mistura instável acabaria se rompendo e então nos guia por um panorama da Antiguidade aos dias atuais a partir de temas como formas de governo, idiomas, religiões, jogos de poder e conflitos bélicos. Com um texto claro e bem-humorado e diversas ilustrações, o autor nos apresenta a cavaleiros e sacerdotes, alemães românticos e franceses revolucionários, camponeses e líderes geniais – todas as peças que moldaram nossa forma de pensar e nos relacionar. Sintético porém abrangente, A mais breve história da Europa encara o desafio de resumir milênios em poucas páginas, mas não se limita a descrever os acontecimentos e todos os fatos importantes – ele explica o que cada um deles significou para a Europa e como influenciou e influencia o resto do mundo.

Uma visão original e fascinante das forças que moldaram o mundo

A mais breve história da Europa

‫أوروبا

If there are genuine questions about Australian history, there is something to puzzle over. The history ceases to be predictable—and dull. From the author of The Shortest History of Europe, acclaimed historian John Hirst, comes this fresh and stimulating approach to understanding Australia's past and present. Hirst asks and answers questions that get to the heart of Australia's history: Why did Aborigines not become farmers? How did a penal colony change peacefully to a democracy? Why was Australia so prosperous so early? Why did the Australian colonies federate? What effect did convict origins have on national character? Why was the postwar migration programme a success? Why is Australia not a republic? Engaging and enjoyable, and written for the novice and the expert alike, Australian History in 7 Questions explains how we became the nation we are today. ‘If you don't always agree with the answers, you will certainly acquire a renewed interest in the questions. This, surely, is the highest hope of good history.’ —Saturday Paper ‘An excellent tool for provoking debate’ —Age ‘An intriguing approach’ —West Weekend Magazine ‘With trademark clarity and insight, Hirst manages to touch every cornerstone of Australia’s past ... every Australian should read this book.’ —Monthly ‘Thought provoking’ —Daily Telegraph ‘Instructively provocative’ —Burnie Advocate ‘Australian History in 7 Questions is a lively and exciting book, showing the skills of a professional historian and social commentator ... Anyone would benefit from reading this erudite short book.’ —Australian Journal of Politics and History John Hirst was a member of the History Department at La Trobe University from 1968 to 2007. He has written many books on Australian history, including Convict Society and Its Enemies, The Strange Birth of Colonial Democracy, The Sentimental Nation, Sense and Nonsense in Australian History and The Shortest History of Europe.

Australian History in 7 Questions

Is there an Australian national character? What are its distinguishing features? Over the years, how have insiders and outsiders summed up this country and its people, and how have Australians responded to outside criticism? In The Australians, John Hirst gathers together the key assessments of the national character, on topics as diverse as sport, war, mateship, humour, put-downs, suburbia and going native. There is celebration and criticism. There is humour and insight. There is the difference between what Australians think of themselves and what they are really like. Contributors include Winston Churchill, Ned Kelly, Tim Flannery, Henry Lawson, Peter Cosgrove, Germaine Greer, Charles Darwin, Charles Dickens, Captain James Cook, David Malouf, Mark Twain, H.G. Wells, Patrick White, Oscar Wilde and Tim Winton.

The Australians (Large Print 16pt)

為什麼歐洲對現代文明的影響這麼深?

你一定愛讀的極簡歐洲史

The new evangelist, outlines for village preachers

Freedom on the Fatal Shore brings together John Hirst's two books on the early history of New South Wales. Both are classic accounts which have had a profound effect on the understanding of our history. This combined edition includes a new foreword by the author. Convicts with their "own time", convicts with legal rights, convicts making money, convicts getting drunk - what sort of prison was this? Hirst describes how the convict colony actually worked and how Australian democracy came into being, despite the opposition of the most powerful. He writes: "This was not a society that had to become free; its freedoms were well established from the earliest times." “Colonial Australia was a more ‘normal’ place than one might imagine from the folkloric picture of society governed by the lash and the triangle, composed of groaning white slaves tyrannised by ruthless masters. The book that best conveys this and has rightly become a landmark in recent studies of the System is J.B. Hirst’s Convict Society and Its Enemies.” —Robert Hughes, The Fatal Shore “Anyone with an interest in Australian political culture will find The Strange Birth of Colonial Democracy invaluable.” —Professor Colin Hughes, former Electoral Commissioner for the Commonwealth

John Hirst

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